OREANDA-NEWS. Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Oboronprom, part of State Corporation Rostec, has opened a thermo-chemical parts processing plant - the only one of its kind in Russia - at Reductor-PM, the Perm-based Russian Helicopters company that produces gearbox and transmission units.

Today's official opening ceremony was attended by the Perm Minister of Industry, Enterprise and Trade Kirill Khmaruk, Russian Helicopters Deputy CEO for Production Andrey Shibitov and Reductor-PM Managing Director Nikolay Semikopenko. The officials opened the plant and symbolically launched the process of cementation of parts in a multi-purpose gas-fired furnace.

“Introducing the latest technologies is one of the core priorities of Russian Helicopters' production policy,” said Andrey Shibitov. “Today we are strengthening collaboration between our plants, which will help us to significantly streamline production. To do this we are investing heavily in modernising existing production capacities and opening unique competency centres.”

“This project is underpinned by a number of fundamental principles including the use of high-quality thermo-chemical processing technologies, reliability, environmental sustainability, high production capacity and economic efficiency,” said Nikolay Semikopenko. “Introducing the latest thermo-chemical processing technologies will reduce costs for unscheduled work to correct defects in production and operation, and will also reduce the length of the parts production cycle.”

The decision to create a thermo-chemical processing plant at Reductor-PM was taken in 2009, when the company became part of Russian Helicopters, and forms part of Russian Helicopters policy to update its production capacities. Establishing the plant involved the acquisition of a land plot and reconstruction of the existing production site. Reductor-PM staff subsequently developed the technology and brought in the necessary equipment. In the same year an agreement was signed with German firm IVA Industrieofen to supply the equipment.

The site currently has more than 40 pieces of equipment. The laboratory that forms an integral part of the production facility has been fitted out to allow test production, metallographic research and testing of the mechanical qualities of the parts being developed.

IVA's partner companies BMI of France and Riva of Poland also made a large contribution to the project. The project site was prepared by Perm company Kriogen-Holod-Tehnologia. Assistance in embedding the new technological processes was also provided by the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Aviation Materials and the Central Institute of Aerospace Motor Engineering.